If you have entered into a parenting plan or there is an order of the court in respect of the arrangements for your child or children that include provision for shared care, this does not necessarily mean that you do not have to pay child support.

According to the Child Support Agency, shared care is when you have care of your child or children between 35% and 65% of the time. This is 128 to 237 nights per year or 5 to 9 nights of care per fortnight.

The formula for calculating child support is flexible and takes into account many different family circumstances. The key components in calculating child support include:

• the equal consideration of both parents’ income
• a self-support amount is deducted from each parent’s income before child support is worked out
• the percentage of care each parent provides is taken into account
• the children from first and subsequent families are treated in a similar way 

If you have entered into a parenting plan or you have an order of the court, you should immediately supply it to the Child Support Agency so that they have the same information about care from both parents and they can calculate your child support assessment correctly.

For more information in the meantime, contact Richard Callaghan from our Family Law Team on 07 4911 0500 or visit www.kellylegal.com.au